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Students defeat new 'Barnacle' parking clamp, skip fines and get free internet

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Re: Students defeat new 'Barnacle' parking clamp, skip fines and get free internet

#101

Post by apcragg »

greedo wrote: post #88
cortesoft wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Building a bigger parking lot requires money... who should pay for that, all students or just students who drive? Why should non-driving students subsidize driving students? Also, the school is not in charge of public transportation.

It's a slippery slope when discussing subsidizing. Should students who are Lit majors subsidize expensive research labs? Or sports teams? College costs really can't be a la carte.

No, it isn't. The literature department is a fundamental component of the university. Providing land and infrastructure for students to store their property in the middle of campus is not - especially when campus is accessible through a variety of modes of transit. Sure, if the university is in a cornfield in Iowa then parking costs are less of an issue given the low cost of land but the majority of campuses I have been to are limited in land. The university has to make a choice between using that land to educate people or for letting people store their cars.

Re: Students defeat new 'Barnacle' parking clamp, skip fines and get free internet

#102

Post by cortesoft »

edejong wrote: post #80
cortesoft wrote: post #26

> Obviously, some students thought that fee was ridiculous – just like paying for parking at a university where you’re already paying a hefty tuition fee I hate parking fees as much as the next person, and totally appreciate the creativity of the people who defeated this device. However, how should we handle distributing a limited number of parking spaces when there are more people who want to park than available spa…

Solutions: 1. Place dorm rooms nearby 2. Subsidize local public transport companies 3. Build more parking spots 4. Offer more content for students to watch at home 5. Take in less students if you don’t have the capacity 6. Organized ride sharing programs. 7. Off-campus parking with bus services

At my school, they did many of these things. In fact, it was generally accepted that you shouldn't drive to school, and they made many alternatives.

For the small amount of parking they did provide, they charged a fee for. I think that is a reasonable way of dealing with the limited resource. Make it so you dont need it as much as possible, charge some to the people who decide to use it anyway.

Re: Students defeat new 'Barnacle' parking clamp, skip fines and get free internet

#103

Post by falcolas »

cortesoft wrote: post #78
rtempaccount1 wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wouldn't it make sense that the university, that is charging the students all this money, ensure they have enough parking spaces to satisfy likely demand? Doesn't seem unreasonable for universities with very high tuitions, to provide amenities like reliably available parking.

This is just spreading the cost of parking to people who don't use it... instead of only people who drive their own cars paying for the parking, now everyone has to. Does the school also pay for public transportation for people who don't drive? Or the extra housing costs of the people who pay extra to live close enough to walk?

This new engineering building is just spreading the cost of classrooms to people who don’t use it.

This new fitness building is just spreading the cost of athletics to people who don’t use it.

The new wheelchair ramps are just spreading the cost of being handicapped to people who don’t use it.

You could apply that logic to all of a college (or life, if you count taxes and insurance) experience. Not everybody is going to use it, but the cost is spread to not disproportionally applied to a single demographic.

Re: Students defeat new 'Barnacle' parking clamp, skip fines and get free internet

#104

Post by Doctor_Fegg »

u801e wrote: post #86
cortesoft wrote: post #26

> Obviously, some students thought that fee was ridiculous – just like paying for parking at a university where you’re already paying a hefty tuition fee I hate parking fees as much as the next person, and totally appreciate the creativity of the people who defeated this device. However, how should we handle distributing a limited number of parking spaces when there are more people who want to park than available spa…

> how should we handle distributing a limited number of parking spaces when there are more people who want to park than available spaces? Presumably most students are living on or not too far from campus. What should be done to get more of them to use transportation options that don't involve driving to and parking on campus?

Cambridge University has it right: undergraduates basically aren’t allowed cars.

https://www.proctors.cam.ac.uk/motor-control

Re: Students defeat new 'Barnacle' parking clamp, skip fines and get free internet

#106

Post by acdha »

srhngpr wrote: post #84
acdha wrote: post #65

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How does this “benefit” other students? They're the ones who are being inconvenienced by scofflaws and if it's like most other places quite likely endangered: the same people who park illegally tend to be cavalier about blocking bike lanes and curb cuts, speeding, rolling through crosswalks, etc.

>the same people who park illegally tend to be cavalier about blocking bike lanes and curb cuts, speeding, rolling through crosswalks, etc. this is generalization at the next level. Anecdotally, when I was in university, I saw parking fees for the spot that I paid for in my first semester go from $180 for the semester (13 weeks) to $600/semester in my 4th year. I think parking tends to be a bit of an issue at many un…

We have public records here in DC. Most times I report someone doing something antisocial (e.g. blocking lanes, crosswalks, refusing to yield, etc. - things which actively inconvenience other road users) using hmdapp.io there’s at least a 50% chance that they have multiple unpaid tickets. The highest I’ve seen is over $10k, but others have found drivers over $40k.

Re: Students defeat new 'Barnacle' parking clamp, skip fines and get free internet

#107

Post by JoeAltmaier »

jeroenhd wrote: post #96
awillen wrote: post #6

"a user who found out his campus only had 12 wheel boots to go around and bought and illegally parked 12 scrapyard cars that could be “sacrificed” so everyone else could park however they wanted." Not all heroes wear capes.

Yes, this way the people who ignore parking fines can keep filling spaces, of which there are now 12 less. Sure, it's a fun example how simple tricks can beat complicated devices, but this only benefits the people who willfully take up valuable parking space that others might want. It's only a matter of time before the university will switch back to the boot, risking more damage to everybody's cars, or to good old to…

Its a college. This is what college students do.

"Those dang kids! Stay off my lawn!"

Re: Students defeat new 'Barnacle' parking clamp, skip fines and get free internet

#108

Post by 3fe9a03ccd14ca5 »

legohead wrote: post #43
chrisseaton wrote: post #28

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why is everyone in this thread celebrating people who park selfishly?! Taking up spaces with abandoned cars is a particularly miserable thing to do that makes the original underlying problem worse!

They wouldn't have to resort to any shenanigans if parking on campus was free for students.

Are you kidding? If parking was free then nobody would be able to park there. Everyone would drive even if they only lived a few blocks away or a single bus ride away.

It would be unavailable to students who actually need it.

Re: Students defeat new 'Barnacle' parking clamp, skip fines and get free internet

#109

Post by [deleted] »

legohead wrote: post #97
acdha wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should the campus subsidize the car-owning students? If those students want exclusive use of a public space why not let them pay market rates for it?

The students are paying for a service from the University. It's very reasonable that the University provide parking space for those who can't afford to live on campus. Actually, it's in their best interest, unless they want to be an online school. And thus similarly in the best interest of all students, if they want a locally accessible University to exist.

[deleted]

Re: Students defeat new 'Barnacle' parking clamp, skip fines and get free internet

#110

Post by cortesoft »

greedo wrote: post #88
cortesoft wrote: post #81

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Building a bigger parking lot requires money... who should pay for that, all students or just students who drive? Why should non-driving students subsidize driving students? Also, the school is not in charge of public transportation.

It's a slippery slope when discussing subsidizing. Should students who are Lit majors subsidize expensive research labs? Or sports teams? College costs really can't be a la carte.

Well, you have to draw the line somewhere. Do we pay for all food students eat? The clothes they wear? The houses they live in? The cars they drive?

Obviously not... some schools might provide some of those things, but all schools will draw the line somewhere (I don't know of any schools that provide clothing)

Why is it anymore of a slippery slope to say "the college won't subsidize student parking" than "the college won't subsidize student clothing"?

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